It all began thirty years ago on Mars, with a greenperson. But by the time it all finished, the town of Desolation Road had experienced every conceivable abnormality from Adam Black's Wonderful Travelling Chautauqua and Educational ‘Stravaganza (complete with its very own captive angel) to the Astounding Tatterdemalion Air Bazaar. Its inhabitants ranged from Dr. Alimantando, the town’s founder and resident genius, to the Babooshka, a barren grandmother who just wants her own child—grown in a fruit jar; from Rajendra Das, mechanical hobo who has a mystical way with machines to the Gallacelli brothers, identical triplets who fell in love with—and married—the same woman.
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Desolation Road a science fiction set on Mars centers on the town of the title from its founding by a lone scientist trying to unravel the mysteries of time travel to its eventual destruction decades later.
The story is told through the lives of the towns inhabitants passing from one generation to the next.
Highlights include Adam Blacks Educational Extravagansa (with a genuine angel)The arrival of the next prophet, a murder trial, a revoultion, the greatest snooker player who has ever lived and of course the 1st manned time trip in history.
The book is full of wonderful quirks: people come of age at Ten (the martian year is twice ours so in Earth terms they are Twenty), Events always happen at curious times of the day (Thirteen minutes of Thirteen) Worship of the machine has become fused with our religions creating something that is both familiar and alien, The very names of the characters instantly conjure a mental image of them.
The fact the story passes from one generation to the next really gives a sense of continuity to the whole, you really feel as though you KNOW these families and you really can empathise with (or despise)the characters.
I cannot reccomned this book highly enough!
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Zany combinations of a genetically rewired humanity,when the strange drift of fate and desire brings togheter fascinating and cryptic personae in a hyperrealistic martian desert.A masterpiece of the imagination.I'm savouring it slowly,to appreciate the melancholic,Sheckleyan twang of McDonald's intriguing writing. If you want to read a VERY good modern S.F. book on Mars,read this book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Madaxeman
Format:Paperback
This book is marvellous, wierd, odd & at times poetic. Like the best of Ray Bradbury's small town Americana stories worked up into a novel, dusted with cyberpunk and moved to a strange alternative Edgar Rice Burrows Mars.
An impressive book anyway, doubly so when Ares Express is added into the universe, and even more so considering how different (as straight down the line SF) his previous two books, Chagga & Kirinya, are - but equally you can see where River of Gods came from (but only just!)
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews
4.1 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
A so-so start gradually stagnates into sheer unending tedium.
I hate to dissent from the other 5-star reviews for this book, but this book is defintely not of the same calibre as McDonald's later work. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2011 by HeecheeRendezvous
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow better than i expected
Well what can i say Mcdonald Crafts a fine Story. He weaves many threads and manages to Somehow to pull them all together again. Read more
Published on 25 April 2003 by "jamief18"
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
